The Cleveland Guardians got some good news on the injury front when outfielder Angel Martinez began a rehab assignment at Triple-A. Now, the Guardians are hoping for similar good news regarding third baseman Jose Ramirez.
Unfortunately, it seems like Ramirez is still at least a little bit away from returning to action. On the bright side, it is possible he might not need a rehab assignment coming off of hamate bone surgery.
Manager Stephen Vogt shared an update about Ramirez’s return timeline, saying it will be up to the 33-year-old to determine how he’s feeling and when he’ll be able to take the field.
“He’s going to drive a lot of this just because he knows himself. He’s been working hard. We’re not 100 percent sure he’ll need to go out [for a rehab assignment]. He’s going to know what he needs when he feels like he’s ready to go play,” Vogt said. “We know that we have a progression for him to build up to a certain amount of games and innings. But at the same time, it’s, ‘How’s he feeling? How’s he looking? How’s the rhythm of the game?’”
Ramirez, Martinez and Chase DeLauter were all injured in the same game on June 13. DeLauter was able to return to Cleveland’s outfield late last month and has been on a hot streak since reentering the lineup.
Martinez has overcome his foot injury and made two plate appearances for Columbus on Friday before the game was suspended in the fourth inning due to poor air quality and rain. The plan is for him to then play another series for Double-A Akron, keeping him closer to Cleveland for whenever he is ready to return to the majors.
As for Ramirez, at the time of his surgery, he was given a 6-8-week recovery timeline. Saturday marks five weeks since he suffered the injury, so he would seem to be right on track. A potential target date of Friday, July 31, a series opener at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks, has been mentioned.
There may be some concern about what Ramirez will be capable of when he returns. A hamate injury has been known to sap hitters of their power, an area of the game he was already struggling with this season, putting up just 10 home runs in the first 72 games.
The good news is that when he returned from a similar injury to his other hand in 2019, after just four weeks, Ramirez hit two home runs in his first game back.
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